The historic Dutch tall ship Oosterschelde and her crew which includes sailors from the Another World Adventures community achieved a remarkable maritime milestone, successfully reaching Cape Horn during the DARWIN200 conservation mission this week.

The crew is on track to achieve an official ‘rounding’ of the infamous cape having set off from New Zealand last month on the 5,300 nautical mile voyage – further cementing the tall ship’s place in maritime history.

In order to be considered as an official Cape Horn Rounding the voyage must round Cape Horn under sail as part of a non-stop passage of at least 3,000 nautical miles which passes above the latitude of 50° South in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and is completed without the use of engines for propulsion.

Oosterschelde’s Director Gerben Nab says “Cape Horn was identified by mariners and first rounded in 1616 by the Dutchmen Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire, who named it Kaap Hoorn after the city of Hoorn in the Netherlands. While hundreds of ships have gone down near Cape Horn since, one vessel that narrowly escaped that fate was the HMS Beagle, with naturalist Charles Darwin aboard in a harrowing passage just before Christmas 1832! As one of the very few truly historic sailing ships left in the world, Oosterschelde crew have decades of experience safely navigating our oceans we have prepared well for our third Cape Horn rounding”. 

The tall ship has recently launched its new sailing schedule for 2025 and beyond and invites adventure seekers to join them on board for the adventure of a lifetime. 

The ship has a further 9 days to go to reach 50° South on the Atlantic side before disembarking in Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands, where it is expected to arrive on February 19, 2025. 

Cape Horn: The Ultimate Test of Seamanship

Cape Horn, located at 55.98°S, 67.29°W, is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of Chile. Renowned as the ‘Mount Everest of Sailing,’ it is notorious for its treacherous conditions, with howling winds, massive waves, unpredictable currents, and freezing temperatures that have challenged even the most experienced mariners for centuries. By successfully rounding Cape Horn, Oosterschelde and its crew have conquered one of the most dangerous maritime passages in the world, reaffirming the ship’s place in sailing history.

A Feat of Maritime Excellence

The successful passage of Cape Horn is a testament to the skill, determination, and resilience of the Oosterschelde crew, led by Captain Maarten De Jong, 46, from the Netherlands on his 197th voyage with Oosterschelde who says: 

“This legendary headland has been the graveyard of countless ships since the Age of Exploration. The extreme weather, with frequent 12-meter waves and wind speeds exceeding 100 km/h, has made it one of the most feared sailing routes on Earth. I’m proud of the ship and our crew for skillfully navigating these challenging waters to show what is possible and reinforce our mission of making seafaring and exploration accessible for adventure seekers of all ages and backgrounds.”

The crew is made up of a mix of professional sailors and ‘guest voyage crew’ from the general public who signed up to undertake the challenge.

Professional crew:

1. Maarten de Jong (Netherlands) – Captain
2. Matu O’Flaherty (UK/NZ) – 1st Mate
3. Boudewijn Ridder (Netherlands) – 2nd Mate
4. Timo Naef (Switzerland) – Bosun
5. Tjaardy Buiskool (Netherlands) – Sailor
6. Gijs Koek (Netherlands) – Sailor
7. Silja Ravn-Jonsen (Denmark) – Sailor
8. Sjoerd Lubbers (Netherlands) – Cook

A total of 27 people are on board for this leg of the journey helping to sail, steer and navigate the ship from the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, UK, US, Australia, and Canada. The youngest sailor was born in 2003, while the oldest was born in 1955.

Canadian Nick Petuhoff, 32, a tall ship enthusiast joined the guest crew for the voyage saying “When hearing that I’d been accepted onto the crew of this great voyage I was ecstatic, yet bouts of apprehension creeped into my mind as I realized that I was committed to this task. The myth of rounding Cape Horn, another journey into the unknown, was going to become another reality in my life.

Whether it was by an act of courage or recklessness, all I could do was prepare for the voyage ahead by researching what I could, packing up my duffle bag, and by convincing myself that through the teamwork of my shipmates, we would get the Oosterschelde to its destination safely, with smiles on our faces. At long last, I arrived at the Te Ana Marina and found the topmast schooner moored alongside the pier. Slowly, 27 individuals from 9 different nations gathered aboard, including the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Germany, Bermuda, and me, as the only Canadian. We were ushered by the professional crew into the richly decorated salon, full of oil paintings, brass fixtures, an upright piano, and trinkets from various voyages lining the walls. As we went around the room with introductions, I was intrigued by the diverse collection of people and the stories that brought us together in this moment. A lifelong dream to go around the Horn was a common reason; a father and son wanted to have an adventure together; a PhD student was offered a berth 2 weeks before the ship set sail to conduct conservation research. Some had never sailed before, and this was their first experience on a tall ship. The anxious tension in the room was palpable, but we were motivated, and eager to get started. We celebrated a birthday that evening, and I could feel some of that tension ease away as we had dinner together as a crew, sharing stories as freely as the food on the table. We were off to a good start, coming together as a team”.

Retracing Darwin’s Path: A Mission for Conservation

Setting sail from Plymouth, UK, in August 2023, Oosterschelde, as part of the DARWIN200 mission, embarked on an extraordinary two-year planetary conservation mission, retracing Charles Darwin’s 19th-century route on the HMS Beagle. Ooterschelde has covered over 31,500 nautical miles on a journey that has so far taken 545 days. The voyage aims to host and train a total of 200 exceptional young environmentalists from all over the world, engaging them in hands-on conservation efforts in the same locations where Darwin and his colleagues explored the natural world almost two centuries ago.

Oosterschelde’s Epic Voyage: From Cargo Vessel to Cultural Icon

The Oosterschelde is one of the world’s finest, fully restored historic tall ships and the largest sailing vessel ever to be restored in the Netherlands. She is registered by the Dutch Government as a monument of great cultural and historical value. The ship is one of the oldest and most authentic ships in the international fleet of Tall Ships. Oosterschelde relaunched after a major refurbishment in 1996 and was recommissioned by Her Royal Highness Princess Margrite of The Netherlands. She is a bastion of Dutch ship building and is described by the ship’s Director and Captain Gerben Nab as having had at least five lives, starting in 1917 as a cargo vessel. Over the past 30 years Oosterschelde has welcomed thousands of sailors and adventure seekers on board including royalty, politicians, presidents and pop stars, even once hosting a birthday party for Sir Tom Jones! 

Oosterschelde was the first Dutch commercial tall ship to sail to both the north and south poles and successfully tackle the infamous Cape Horn. 

What Next after Cape Horn? 

The DARWIN200 voyage completes in Falmouth, UK in July 2025 with major port stops in Falkland Islands (February), Cape Town (April), St Helena (May), Ascension Island (May), Across the Equator to Azores (June) and Falmouth UK (arriving 19th June 2025).

A ‘Victory lap’ to London and a homecoming voyage to the ship’s port of Rotterdam follow. 

From September 2025 an exciting programme of voyages available for guest crew to book is now available in the UK, Portugal, Cape Verde Islands, Canary Islands, Suriname, Martinique, St Martin and the Bahamas for adventure seekers to join in. 

See the full schedule here and make an enquiry on the trip page for full details and to connect with the crew office.